Stand Up To Cancer

With summer right around the corner, here's a timely reminder to be diligent with the sunscreen: according to new research in the Archives of Dermatology, skin cancer has become an "epidemic" in the US. Over two million Americans were treated for 3.5 million cases of the disease in 2006 - up from an estimated 900,000 to 1.2 million cases in 1994. Though the researchers didn't say why the rates were rising so quickly, they noted that "educational programs emphasizing sun protection have mainly been disappointing in slowing skin cancer rates."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2010/03/non-melanoma-skin-cancer-epidemic.html

An article in the NY Times looks at the struggles faced by teens with cancer. (SU2C Mag has a piece on the same topic that you can check out here.) Although 1 in 333 kids develop a malignancy by age 20, and the disease is the leading cause of death from illness for people 15-19, the article exposes the lack of advances made in fighting adolescent cancer: teens have not benefited from the big increases in survival seen in younger children and older adults, and they are far less likely to be involved in clinical trials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/health/16canc.html

On Monday, President Obama renewed his efforts to persuade lawmakers to pass his healthcare reform legislation, invoking the plight of cancer patient Natoma Canfield. Her story is all too familiar: she survived cancer once, but couldn't afford health insurance with a pre-existing condition; now she's facing a second bout with leukemia and weeks of expensive chemotherapy. "She is racked with worry not only about her illness but about the cost of the tests and treatments she will surely need to beat it," the President said in his speech.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Obama_cites_cancer_victim_in_health_03152010.html

A new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology suggests that people who suffer from psoriasis also have an increased risk of developing several cancers: skin, prostate and lymphoma. In an analysis of almost 150,000 people over two and a half years, 34.8% of those with psoriasis were diagnosed with cancer, while only 23.3% of those without the skin condition developed the disease. People with psoriasis had a 75% higher risk for skin cancer, 87% higher risk for lymphoma and 22% higher risk for prostate cancer.
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/psoriasis/news/20100315/psoriasis-linked-to-heart-disease-cancer

Finally, a small study out of the UK indicates that taking daily capsules of purified fish oil could slow or prevent colorectal cancer in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, a condition that can often be a precursor to the disease. In a study of 55 people with FAP, those who took fish oil capsules for six months had fewer, and smaller, polyps at the end of the study than at the start; in contrast, the control group, which took placebo capsules, had more and larger polyps at the end. The article concludes with some sage advice: if you have FAP and want to try the capsules, definitely talk to your doctor first.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/2010/mar/18/fish-oil-may-reduce-bowel-cancer-risk-for-the-genetically

That's all for this week, but I'll be back next Thursday with more!

--Cat